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Mshenay
135
Jan 10, 2018
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Astro_Seven
182
Jan 11, 2018
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MshenayIs it better than the Aune B1s? I noticed your thread over at HF.
Mshenay
135
Jan 11, 2018
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Astro_SevenTechnically yes the Pico Power is better, but beyond technicalities the two amps differ in presentation and design.
If you a more technical listener who values resolve an detail over naturalness you'll like pico power. Especially if you have what you feel is your end game portable source/dac. As it simply amplifys what your Dac produces, feed it from a burr Brown chip an its very natural, with an Esabre chipset its colder an more dynamic or exciting. Sometimes too much or too little, it's really an amp for discerning listeners who have what they feel are their end game headphones or portable players. What ever strengths or flaws you find in the presentation of your headphone or DAP will be amplified with the Pico Power.
The B1S is natural regardless of the source, it presents a wider image than the Pico Power though which helps balance the added body n decay. It's also a bit more forgiving. But while it's presentation is different its technically not as resolving nor as powerful. Aune did NOT design the B1S to drive full sized less efficient and harder to drive headphones.
Where as Head Amp has designed and built this portable amp drive the more demanding loads of a Full Sized Headphone. I've successfully used it to drive both my HE 4 and AKG K240, and it does so better than the B1S does.
Now where things get interesting are how the two amps pair with what I'd consider less resolving or price conscious DACs\sources , with my HM901 set to "vintage" the Pico Power is again clearly better... always. I do consider my HM901 to be... a reference class DAP. I've gutted it's amp section to maximize on battery life and it's been impressing me for 4 years now! It'll even trade blows with the Hugo 2, but that's neither here nor there
When I step into the Shanling M3s, which is not as resolving as the HM901 then the differences in presentation matter more, with the Pico Power the M3s is very dynamic, very taut and well textured but the timbre is kinda off... with the Aune B1S there's a "magic" a warmth to the sound that really pairs nicely with THIS DAP. So on one hand I have a more technical presentation, but because the source it self clearly lacks some naturalness... which the Pico Power only magnifies I frankly can't appreciate technicalities of the sound as a whole because it's... un-natural. On the other hand with the Aune B1s imbues a lovely naturalness to the chain as a whole. So while there's less resolve, timbre is correct and the overall experince is more enjoyable. An yes I volume matched both my impression with a Galaxy Audio CM 140, which meets the IEC 651 Type 2 standards. It's not the best thing ever I'm sure, but it's more than sufficient for my use. I even have a little couple I use to help standardize position when I measure for volume
Non the less at this price the extra spent on the Pico Power and upgraded batteries are well worth it, especially IF your happy with your Source/Amp/DAP. Otherwise at its normal 500( including the li ion rechargeable batteries) price, the B1S will be the better value especially if you can use the 280 difference to upgrade your DAC or Source
Rest assured though when I post my impressions and thoughts of the B1S, I'll mention the Pico Power. I'll speak of it's better technicalities, and overall better performance, but also it's higher cost and very limited availability at the "best price," and it's ability to magnify both faults and strengths,
If you a more technical listener who values resolve an detail over naturalness you'll like pico power. Especially if you have what you feel is your end game portable source/dac. As it simply amplifys what your Dac produces, feed it from a burr Brown chip an its very natural, with an Esabre chipset its colder an more dynamic or exciting. Sometimes too much or too little, it's really an amp for discerning listeners who have what they feel are their end game headphones or portable players. What ever strengths or flaws you find in the presentation of your headphone or DAP will be amplified with the Pico Power.
The B1S is natural regardless of the source, it presents a wider image than the Pico Power though which helps balance the added body n decay. It's also a bit more forgiving. But while it's presentation is different its technically not as resolving nor as powerful. Aune did NOT design the B1S to drive full sized less efficient and harder to drive headphones.
Where as Head Amp has designed and built this portable amp drive the more demanding loads of a Full Sized Headphone. I've successfully used it to drive both my HE 4 and AKG K240, and it does so better than the B1S does.
Now where things get interesting are how the two amps pair with what I'd consider less resolving or price conscious DACs\sources , with my HM901 set to "vintage" the Pico Power is again clearly better... always. I do consider my HM901 to be... a reference class DAP. I've gutted it's amp section to maximize on battery life and it's been impressing me for 4 years now! It'll even trade blows with the Hugo 2, but that's neither here nor there
When I step into the Shanling M3s, which is not as resolving as the HM901 then the differences in presentation matter more, with the Pico Power the M3s is very dynamic, very taut and well textured but the timbre is kinda off... with the Aune B1S there's a "magic" a warmth to the sound that really pairs nicely with THIS DAP. So on one hand I have a more technical presentation, but because the source it self clearly lacks some naturalness... which the Pico Power only magnifies I frankly can't appreciate technicalities of the sound as a whole because it's... un-natural. On the other hand with the Aune B1s imbues a lovely naturalness to the chain as a whole. So while there's less resolve, timbre is correct and the overall experince is more enjoyable. An yes I volume matched both my impression with a Galaxy Audio CM 140, which meets the IEC 651 Type 2 standards. It's not the best thing ever I'm sure, but it's more than sufficient for my use. I even have a little couple I use to help standardize position when I measure for volume
Non the less at this price the extra spent on the Pico Power and upgraded batteries are well worth it, especially IF your happy with your Source/Amp/DAP. Otherwise at its normal 500( including the li ion rechargeable batteries) price, the B1S will be the better value especially if you can use the 280 difference to upgrade your DAC or Source
Rest assured though when I post my impressions and thoughts of the B1S, I'll mention the Pico Power. I'll speak of it's better technicalities, and overall better performance, but also it's higher cost and very limited availability at the "best price," and it's ability to magnify both faults and strengths,
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At $290 I'd grab the Pico Power and call it a day, as the only better portable amps out there are balanced, only marginally better , very difficult to find and expensive, and the only headphones that really need them are old school Planar magnetics like the HE4/5/6 or the Legacy Audezes, other wise this is imo hands the BEST portable single ended solid state amp out there for about 95% of in production headphones these days!